Language and dialect in China

Francis, Norbert

doi:10.1075/cld.7.1.05fra

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The above scenario indicates that there still exists systematically social stigma against dialects in Chinese disadvantaged regions [ 73 ]. Previous literature suggests that the promotion of the official language during China’s economic boom from 2000 to 2010 had a detrimental impact on dialects [ 74 , 75 ]. Nevertheless, President Xi’s proposed dialect protection policies since 2015 till now have largely mitigated the crisis surrounding dialect [ 76 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public attitudes towards dialects: Evidence from 31 Chinese provinces

Li,

Ke,

2023

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Dialect Attitude is conceptualized as an individual’s cognitive and affective evaluation of a dialect and its speakers. In the contemporary China, dialect is suffering from significant stigmatization, resulting in social inequalities, which hinder sustainable development. This study aims to reveal the Chinese public attitudes towards dialects, and clarify the potential determinants related to heterogeneous attitudes at a macro level. Methods We combine the crawler technology and sentiment analysis to conduct a provincial cross-sectional study. We collect 1,650,480 microblogs about public attitudes towards dialects from Microblog across 31 specific Chinese provinces. Spatial regression models are utilized to clarify the influence of macro-level determinants on differences in public attitudes. Results The present study reveals that: (1) The Chinese public generally holds positive attitudes towards dialects, with significant variation between provinces. (2) Political Resource (β = 0.076, SD = 0.036, P<0.05), Economic Development (β = 0.047, SD = 0.022, P<0.05), and Cultural Resource (β = 0.054, SD = 0.021, P<0.05) promote public positive attitudes towards dialects. (3) Political Resource and Culture Resource influence more significant in the relatively advantaged regions, and Economic Development poses a higher influence in the relatively disadvantaged regions. Conclusions Basing on the combination of crawler technology and sentiment analysis, the present study develops the most comprehensive database which takes 1,650,480 dialects-related microblogs from 31 Chinese provinces, and describes the following scenario: (1) Overall, the Chinese public shares a relatively positive attitude towards dialects with significant variations among different provinces, (2) Political Resource, Economic Development and Culture Resource pose positive effects on Chinese public attitudes towards dialects and (3) Political Resource and Culture Resource influence more significant in the relatively disadvantaged regions, and Economic Development poses a higher influence in the relatively advantaged regions.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public attitudes towards dialects: Evidence from 31 Chinese provinces

Li,

Ke,

2023

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The case of bidialectal language experience, or bidialectalism, refers to the ability of using two dialects of the same language. One of the crucial differences between a language and a dialect lies in mutual intelligibility (e.g., K. Antoniou et al, 2016;Francis, 2016;Lee-James & Washington, 2018;Tang & Van Heuven, 2009). Languages are not mutually intelligible and dialects are mutually intelligible in general sense.…”

Section: Bidialectalism and Cognitive Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bilingualism but not bidialectalism influences cognitive control among young adult Chinese–English bilinguals

Xie

Zhong

2023

International Journal of Bilingualism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: This study investigates whether bilingualism and bidialectalism influence cognitive control, and whether the two variables interact. Design/methodology/approach: The study compared two matched groups differing in second language (L2) proficiency through the Flanker and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The two groups were further divided into four groups differing in dialect proficiency, so that the effects of L2 proficiency and dialect proficiency and the interactive effect were examined. Data and analysis: A mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to the Flanker task data, with the task condition as the within-subject variable and the participant group as the between-subject variable. Independent t-test and ANOVA analyses were used to compare the performance differences between groups on the WCST. Findings/conclusion: The high L2 proficiency group performed better than the low L2 proficiency group both in the Flanker task and the WCST, reflecting better monitoring and shifting ability. L2 proficiency effect on cognitive control was significant. However, no dialect effect was observed, and no interaction effect was found. Further multiple regression results confirmed the role of L2 proficiency but not dialect proficiency. Originality: This is one of the first bilingual studies to incorporate both bilingualism and bidialectalism simultaneously. Significance/implications: The current research provides robust evidence that bilingualism is related to the enhancement of cognitive control, but questions the effect of bidialectalism.

show abstract

“…However, in China, one particular variable deserves special attention, namely the use of dialects. Dialects are conceptualized as the regional variants of a language that differ from a standard language (such as Mandarin) and are spoken only in specific regions (Francis, 2016). The language barriers that may come with dialect use are particularly salient in China due to the compounded risks posed by social inequality (Trudgill, 2012;Ohtani et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the relationship between mental health and dialect use among Chinese older adults: a moderated mediation estimation

Jin

2023

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundMental health, conceptualized as psychological status that includes rational cognition, emotional stability, and interpersonal harmony, is highly relevant to the expected health and well-being of all humans. China is facing the dual risk of increased aging and mental health disorders in older adults, while the established studies have rarely focused on the influence of dialect on the mental health of Chinese older adults. The present study aims to capture the relationship between dialect and mental health in Chinese older adults.MethodsWe use cross-sectional data from the nationally representative China Family Panel Studies, which encompasses the dialect use, mental health, and other socioeconomic features of 4,420 respondents. We construct a moderated mediation model that uses dialects and mental health as the independent and dependent variables and income inequality and subjective well-being as the mediator and moderator to reveal the relationship between dialect and mental health in Chinese older adults.Results(1) Dialects are shown to have a negative influence on the mental health of older adults in the current study (coefficient = −0.354, 95% CI = [−0.608, −0.097]). (2) Income inequality positively mediates the correlation between dialects and mental health (coefficient = 0.019, 95% CI = [0.010, 0.045]). (3) Subjective well-being negatively moderates the potential mechanism between dialects and mental health (coefficient = −0.126, 95% CI = [−0.284, −0.010]).ConclusionThe use of dialects is associated with worse mental health outcomes in Chinese older adults, while this negative influence is positively mediated by income inequality and negatively moderated by subjective well-being, simultaneously. This study contributes to the knowledge enrichment of government workers, older adults with mental disorders, medical staff, and other stakeholders.

show abstract

Language and dialect in China

Cited by 14 publications

References 22 publications

Public attitudes towards dialects: Evidence from 31 Chinese provinces

Public attitudes towards dialects: Evidence from 31 Chinese provinces

Bilingualism but not bidialectalism influences cognitive control among young adult Chinese–English bilinguals

Exploring the relationship between mental health and dialect use among Chinese older adults: a moderated mediation estimation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About